Just received word around 5:15-ish that I'll be able to live blog from tonight's Home Foundation benefit.  If you can't make the show, check back for tidbits about the event and anything else I can throw in!\

6:25pm...Here's the crowd waiting outside:

A picture of the information packets being given to every person in attendance tonight:

 

The stage waiting for the festivities to begin:

 

I'll update more closer to show time!

7:25pm...Here's the Home Foundation's info table.

The stage is set and ready for the show!

7:30pm...Natalie and Stacia from The Home Foundation start the show.  Did you know there are more slaves around the world today than at any point in human history?  27 million slaves home and abroad.

 

7:35pm...They're playing a video I linked to a few months ago.  I'll link to it again later tonight.

7:40pm...Tenth Avenue North and Audrey Assad take the state to begin the music with "Strong Enough To Save":

 

7:44pm...Audrey Assad with "Winter Snow"

7:48pm...Phillip LaRue takes the stage and shares about his experiences with The Home Foundation.  He spoke of seeing the damage of human trafficking first hand in India and the restoration that is possible.  He launches into "Mountains High Valleys Low":

7:52pm...Phillip introduces Britt Nicole...she sings "The Lost Get Found" and gets the crowd clapping along with her:

7:56pm...Britt speaks about wanting to be a voice for the children who have been broken by human trafficking.  She hopes they can come home to know their Father.  She spoke of the first time she really heard the Lord speaking to her on the subject of human trafficking.

"No matter how big the calling, no matter how scary it may seem, God will be there every step of the way.  It's worth the risk."

She launches into her song "Safe."

8:03pm...Brandon Heath comes out and thanks Britt.  He introduces Joe on keyboards and speaks about what an honor it is to work with The Home Foundation.  He talked about how he and his friends have been discussing the issue in their regular lives and ways they can become involved.  Brandon said the biggest thing is finally taking the step to get involved with the fight against human trafficking.  He begins the opening notes of "Love Never Fails".  The girl sitting next to me smiled so big that I was afraid she would swallow her ears! :)

 

8:06pm...Brandon starts "Give Me Your Eyes" and the audience cheers loudly!  The sound is fantastic tonight...the sound techs are doing a fantastic job!

 

 

8:11pm...Brandon introduces 10th Avenue North...Mike comes out and jokes since there's only half of them they should be 5th Avenue North:

 

8:16pm...Mike speaks about the gospel and our identity in Christ.  I videotaped it on my BlackBerry (which is the source of the blurry pics too) and I'll upload the video later tonight.  It's too big to e-mail to myself so I can post it now.  Sorry...

8:25pm...10th Avenue North launches into "You Are More":

 

8:31pm...Natalie shares her story and the story of the Foundation.  Video coming later tonight,

8:42pm...Brandon Heath joins Natalie to sing "Heavenly Day":

 

8:45pm...Natalie takes center stage for "In Better Hands" and a new song called "Power of the Cross":

 

8:53pm...Natalie calls all the artists back onto the stage for the traditional finale of these benefit concerts..."God Of This City". Thank you for following along tonight and please check back later for when the videos are posted. PLEASE make a donation to The Home Foundation and help us save the lives of women and children all around the world.

"Take off your clothes!"

Annie* stood in front of the man with the gun strapped to his hip as the tears ran down her face.

"I don't want to do that," Annie said.

"I don't care what you want," the man replied as he put his hand on his gun.  "If you don't want me to shoot you take your **** clothes off."

"I thought you were my friends."

_____

Annie was sixteen years old and had dreams of being a model.  She spent hours looking at fashion magazines and watching shows on television about modeling and the glamorous world that awaited her.  One afternoon a friend told her there was an ad in the newspaper for models.  Annie was excited and called the phone number in the newspaper.  She was told that they were looking for models for a photo shoot in another country.  She would get to travel and get paid thousands dollars for a few days shoot.  

She rushed to a local hotel for an interview.  The people who met her seemed professional, classy and told her about all the riches and attention that waited for her.  Annie was told if she was interested the job was hers.  They gave her instructions where to show up to leave for the shoot.

The next day she arrived and met two other girls her age.  They were put into a van, driven to an airport and flown to the "exotic" destination where they were to do their photo shoot.  When they arrived, the girls were taken to the attic of a run down house where a photographer was waiting.  There, Annie and the other two girls were told to remove their clothes.   She was repeatedly raped over the next week while it was photographed and filmed.

Annie found a way to escape...but was alone and scared in a foreign country.  Her passport had been taken by her captors and she feared the police would arrest her. She was a teenage girl who felt she had nowhere to go and no way to get home.

_____

Annie isn't her real name...but the story you just read is a sanitizied and fictionalized account of her real story.  (Names and locations removed to help try to keep her identity hidden.)  Her story is just one of millions of young women who have been kidnapped and forced into lives of sexual slavery.  This problem isn't something that only happens in the third world...Annie was taken from the United States.  Thousands of women in the US every day are trapped in human trafficking.  The odds are very high that within 30 miles of your house someone is being held as a slave.

IN AMERICA.  The land of the "free."

Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world.  America is not immune to this and with the internet making it easier all the time to find isolated young women this crime is only going to continue.  We have to stand up against that crime...and for the women who have been victims.

In America, sex crimes like this are often held at arm's length by many.  We feel sympathy for the women who are victims but we don't really want to get involved because of the sensitivity of the situation.  We don't know to react, we don't know what we can do and we end up just sitting on the sideline and let others take care of the problem.  I have a great way you can become involved and it won't take much effort on your part!

Support the Home Foundation.  Help them build shelters in America to provide a safe haven for these women.  Help them give these women a chance to heal physically, emotionally and spiritually.  Help them give these women a chance for a brand new life.

There are three easy ways to help:

1.  Make a cash donation.  Your funds will help the Foundation continue to give to shelters already operating, build new shelters and grow their ability to change the lives of victims.

2.  Use Facebook and Twitter to make people aware of the Home Foundation and the needs of groups around the country and world who are fighting human trafficking.  Help drive people to websites where they can be informed about the signficant ways this crime is impacting societies around the world.  Help shine the light on the fastest growing crime that so many people don't even realize is happening in towns of all size in America.

3.  Pray.  Pray for the women who are victims.  Pray for the people who are rescuing these women.  Pray for those giving counseling and support to these women.  Never underestimate the power of prayer.

Tonight in Nashville the Home Foundation is having a benefit concert to raise funds for the organization.  If you're in the area and you are free tonight come out for a great show and support the Home Foundation.  Get your tickets by clicking here.

You're probably tired of reading about this...but The Home Foundation benefit is tomorrow night.  The proceeds of the event will provide the support to a group which helps women and children who have been victims of human trafficking gain something that your money alone can't give them: the chance at life.  Real life. 

Instead of a long post with all the reasons why you should help and dozens of human trafficking statistics I'm going to take a page from a retailer's playbook.  If you want to entice someone...you give them a little bit and leave them begging for more.  So...here's a little taste of what you would see tomorrow night.  If you like your taste, get your tickets here.

Natalie Grant

Phillip LaRue

Britt Nicole

Brandon Heath

Tenth Avenue North

Audrey Assad

It's going to be a great night!! Join us!!

NASCAR needs to do the right thing here.

Because of the person involved, I doubt they're going to do it.

If you're not a NASCAR fan, one of the most popular drivers decided he was deliberately going to wreck someone because earlier in the race that same popular driver tried to cut in front of someone and that driver couldn't get out of the gas in time.  This "popular" driver, Carl Edwards, ended up slamming into another car which caused damage leaving him unable to really compete on any level for the rest of the race.  It was hard racing at the time of the incident and while Brad Keselowski probably could have given Carl some space that early in the race it was still unintentional on Keselowski's part. 

That wasn't good enough for Carl Edwards.

On lap 322, Carl...150 laps down...tried to deliberately crash Keselowski while they were driving 190 mph.  He missed.  One lap later, Carl was able to cause Keselowski to crash.  Keselowski was on the lead lap and set to finish in sixth place.  So it's not like Talledega where Carl crashed with Brad on the last lap trying to win the race.  Carl had no chance to win the race.  He was on the track in theory to pick up 3 or 6 points for the point standings.  In reality...he was out on that track to wreck another man's car.

He also blew what was going to be a very exciting ending with Kurt Busch trying to hang on against Juan Pablo Montoya.  Sure, there's a chance another wreck would have happened but that would have been an accident...Carl's actions were intentional.

If the powers that be at NASCAR have any level of integrity, they would sit Carl Edwards for at least one race.  Not just fine him, not just take away points and not just take away owners points from the car.  Make him sit at home and watch a race on TV. 

That won't happen to someone as popular as Edwards because he makes NASCAR cash.  The power of money and popularity will override what's right almost every single time. 

I know NASCAR had set things up to let the drivers police themselves to a point and to let the boys "have at it."  I'm not completely opposed to letting the guys mix it up a bit and if they're in the heat of racing giving a little payback.  If Carl and Brad were going at it on the same lap and fighting for position and Carl just drove hard into Brad and crashed him them I probably wouldn't be as livid as I am right now.  However, Carl went out with the intent of crashing Brad.  NASCAR cannot turn a blind eye to a driver going onto the track with the intent of crashing another driver no matter how much we may think that driver deserves it. 

I've been watching blogs and websites focused on NASCAR and Edwards people are making all kinds of posts about how Brad deserved it and how Carl was justified in doing it.  They keep insulting Keselowski and mocking him.  All of these people, in their zeal for their driver, are missing the real point here.  If NASCAR doesn't punish Edwards enough so that it doesn't make it acceptable for a driver to go back on the track with the intent to crash another driver someone will eventually die.  If a driver knows they're going to get dinged with some points and a fine it will NOT be a deterrent unless it's close to the cut off for the chase.

NASCAR needs to draw the line and it shouldn't matter that it's a popular driver who caused them to draw it.

Until this afternoon, I had no problem with Carl Edwards.  If you had to make me choose between him and Keselowski I wouldn't have thought twice in picking Edwards.  Now?  Carl Edwards has lost all of my respect.  The man needs to stand up and say he was wrong...not just blow it off because he know he really screwed up.  If Carl did that, I might be able to not see him on the track and hope that any of the other cars...even Jimmie Johnson...finishes ahead of Carl.

I didn't plan on posting this today but it just won't leave my mind until I share this with you. I guess there's someone who will stumble across this who needs to read it. If it's you...I hope this helps.

I made the post on Monday about the great things that God was doing in our family's life and He's just kept things rolling as the week as gone on.  I left something out from what happened Sunday because at the time I wrote the first blog entry I hadn't really processed what happened to me.  It was about one minute of time on a day of many, many other blessings from God but as the week has progressed it's changed my entire perspective on life. 

I had always had a little chuckle when someone said when we forgive we have to just let go of the other person really feeling any impact for what they may have done to us.  It may not matter how justified they may have felt at the time or how much their actions impacted our lives.  I was told you just can't expect them to even try to understand the ways they may have caused pain within your life.  In the last few years, I've spoken with many women who were abused and who have truly forgiven their abusers to the point they have contacted them to share that forgiveness with them.  I've admired those women for their strong steps and wondered what I would do if I came across someone who caused great pain or trouble in my life.  I'd always said I'd forgiven them but in the back of my mind I always envisioned that they remembered situations as vividly as I remembered the situations. 

I had been able to truly forgive some people for minor things that have happened to me but I always kept in the back of my head the people involved with my being run out of ministry almost a decade ago.  The people whose actions started the downward spiral that made the decade of the 00s a trial virtually from start to finish.  I've certainly learned a lot from that time and I'm a better person and servant of God for it but it was still a time of pain.  I always remembered the things that were said to me and the men who basically threw me to the wolves.  Sure, they gave me a generous severance check but it was little more than the equivalent of hush money.    There was certainly no love or support or even thoughts of trying to bring restoration to the situation. (I also remember the guys who were very supportive and acted in a truly Christian manner then as well.  It wasn't all bad in terms of the people involved.)

I often said to myself that I would forgive them if I crossed their paths again.  I never expected to have to actually face them.  Then Sunday arrived and God tested me on my theory.

I was walking with one of the gentlemen whose booth I was going to be working at the National Religious Broadcasters convention.  We had been chatting about various spiritual issues and we were in sync on a lot of points.  I was really enjoying my discussion when I looked up.

Walking down the hall toward me was the man who started my downward spiral.  (Note here...I know that technically I started the spiral with my bad decisions.  This guy, however, was the one who handed me the check and told me to get out.)  There was no mistaking him even before I was able to read the name on his ID badge.  The man I was with knew him and issued a greeting.  There was a quick exchange where the two men talked.   I stood beside my compatriot for the day with a badge showing my name hanging very visibly around my neck.  I didn't say anything because I was honestly too stunned at the sudden appearance of someone whom for years I had wondered if they knew the impact of what they did to me.  I saw him look at me, I saw him look at my badge.  No pause or flash of recognition. He told my employer for the day that he would talk to him later but that he was late for some session.  They agreed to meet later and the man walked away with a few other guys.

The guy didn't remember me.

It wasn't that he didn't want to say anything...I watched the face for signs of recognition.  There wasn't even a twitch.  Now, I know he might not have really read the name on the badge but in my head the incident between us was so memorable that even the slightest glance at my name should have set off alarm bells.  Instead, nothing at all. 

I worked the booth and spoke to many nice people (although they didn't smile as much as you would expect folks at a Christian convention to smile.)  There was ample moments of downtime where I was able to really think about the quick exchange in the hallway.  The ways that over the years that man had walked through my brain and made me mentally relive the pain of years and years ago.  A man that I just knew had to remember the time and feel a little guilt over the way he basically threw me out like I wasn't worth trying to restore. 

Instead, he didn't remember me.

God made me realize that too often we can let those moments from our past hang on when He doesn't want them to hang on any longer IF we don't truly forgive and move on.  It really IS for us that we forgive and not for those forgiven.  I had been hanging on for years to thoughts of this man and it made me relive over and over the shame, guilt and consequence of my sin.  I couldn't really walk in the freedom of grace and the growth God's made within me over the time since that morning in a sunny but cool conference room because I kept running to the pain.  I was the dog returning to the perverbial vomit.

I've felt free since that moment.  I finally realized I didn't have to live in the past and the man I was who was rejected a decade ago doesn't exist these days.  God has taken my pain and experiences to make me more compassionate, loving, faithful and driven to help change the lives of others.  I was able to step back and SEE the growth and the possibilities of the future.  All of this...because forgiveness truly and finally happened for a man I can't forget...for whom I don't cross his mind.

God did bless me that day in another way...a former co-worker from that time who never knew what really happened was there.  (He is working for a different ministry now.)  I was able to share all the great things God has done in my life.  That was a tremendous blessing.

What about you?  Is there someone who walks through your brain that you need to finally cut loose as if they don't even remember you?  How can you go about letting them go?